Whether a hotel is boutique,luxury, budget, resort, or part of a hotel chain, public relations should be a primary focus for any destination. For all types of hotels and resorts it is vital always to share your destination’s brand messaging with the help of a PR professional
Both hotel operators and ultimately the consumer know what makes your hotel unique, special, superior or simply better than other options in a similar price range. Hotel public relations and hospitality marketing can set you apart from your competitors and increase occupancy rates.
Determine What’s Unique
A resort on Miami Beach might have a three-bedroom, 2,500 square-foot luxury suite with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, there are pictures of the suite on their website, but many other resorts and hotels will also have the same view and similar accommodations. While no one will typically complain of a beautiful view of the ocean, the resort or hotel operator must create something unique to your destination. Perhaps each luxury suite comes with a 24-hour butler, or it could even be a top Michelin rated restraint on-site. Your unique selling proposition about your destination should be front and center in all of your traditional marketing, advertisements, digital marketing, and PR, setting your destination apart from your competitors.
If you are not confident about your unique selling proposition or why your destination is exclusive, then speak to your guests. Ask them why they choose your hotel or resort, what did they love about their stay, and of course ask what the hotel or resort could do to improve the guest experience. Ask guests to write a quick Google Review about your destination and incentivize them to do so. Word of mouth advertising is critical when making the final booking decision.
Hotel Public Relations Benefits
Hospitality public relations is less expensive than advertising campaigns, however, PR and advertising can work together to amplify your PR and hospitality marketing efforts. For small hotels, using social media advertising is an excellent way to do targeted advertising without breaking the bank. It is important that you use professional grade photos for your social media advertising efforts. If your hospitality PR and marketing budgets are tight, perhaps offer your guests the opportunity to win a free night stay with a paid two-night stay if they win a photo contest with images of your hotel or resort with a branded hashtag and a comment about what they loved most about your destination.
Talk to guests about extracurricular activities they took part in while staying at your hotel and share that information with your hospitality public relations agency. Your agency can then pitch your guests’ stories (of course after a release has been signed) to regional and national media depending on your location, hotel and resort size, the extracurricular activities they enjoyed. A well-placed story can improve your website’s SEO too.
Hotel Public Relations Ideas
1) Conduct a competitive review of other resorts and hotels and analyze what is driving occupancy. Gather ideas and make them applicable to your destination.
2) Share relevant stories on your website’s blog and your social media platforms about upcoming events in the community, highlight local places to visit such as museums, beaches, cozy restaurants, and annual festivals.
3) Show off a little bit too and incorporate your destination’s amenities into your blog and social media sites. Mention your spa, pool, airport shuttle service, turn down service or gift shops and always use professional photos.
4) Provide guests with a branded hashtag and reward them when they share and tag your destination on their social media accounts. Always ask them to write a brief review on TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Google Reviews. Word of mouth PR is still one of the top methods to promote your business.
